MARTHA BRAE, Trelawny — GENERAL Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union Karl Johnson is proposing that the William Knibb Memorial High School be renamed in honour of its founder, the late Reverend Stephen S James, a former pastor of the Kettering Baptist Church, in Duncans.

The school, which opened its doors in 1961, was named after the iconic Reverend William Knibb, a Baptist missionary, revered for his role in the fight for the abolition of slavery.

“I put this to you that perhaps this milestone could provide the platform for us to resurrect the discussion — a debate about renaming the school, not a block, not a building — but renaming the school in honour of the Reverend Stephen James,” Johnson said.

He was speaking at the recent launch of the 50th anniversary celebration of the school, which had its beginnings in Falmouth, the Trelawny capital, but which moved to the former parish capital, Martha Brae in 1976.

Johnson said that in “giving leadership to the establishment of William Knibb Memorial High School in Falmouth” James had followed “the Baptist tradition of shaping the minds of Jamaica’s children”.

Said Johnson: “… it ought not to be interpreted that SS James’, journey to realising this school was an easy road. It was not an easy road but he persevered. He persevered and today the Jamaica Baptist Union in this setting would like to honour his memory and his legacy”.

During the launch, a scholarship fund in honour of the late clergyman was announced. According to Samuel Bowen, liaison officer of the school board, the Stephen James Scholarship Fund is expected to be set up with a minimum of $5 million. The first beneficiary is expected to receive $50,000.

Plans to raise funds for the purchase of a school bus and the construction of a sixth form block were also announced at the launch ceremony.

William Knibb’s acting principal Webster Thompson said an acute space shortage at the institution had frequently led to the transformation of the science laboratory and the library into classrooms.

“The problem is that the student population has been exploding over the years… we have tried really to keep science subjects in the labs but we have been forced sometimes to put non-science subjects in there,” Thompson disclosed.